David Stern tried to get LeBron James, ESPN to stop 'The Decision'

When it comes to discussing LeBron James’ journey, any story, personal or professional, would be incomplete without discussing ‘The Decision.’

And while it’s been over eight years since, a recently released book on the 2010-11 season sheds new light on the 10-minute program that helped change the NBA.

Ian Thomsen, author of ‘The Soul of Basketball,’ was a guest on the Lowe Post podcast on Wednesday, discussing an interview he had with then-commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver. And almost immediately, they get into this excellent anecdote at around the 5-minute mark.

In reading an excerpt from the book, Lowe shares that David Stern both tried to stop LeBron James from doing ‘The Decision,’ but that he also tried to press ESPN.

“Adam on the one hand was understanding of LeBron and the predicament he was in and Stern was more the hardline guy that this was a bad thing,” Thomsen said. “It didn’t really surface but you could sense they had different views of it. I think that helped draw David out and say that hey ‘this was a terrible thing that happened and we tried to stop it.'”

Silver, who would later replace Stern, was far more understanding of LeBron and ESPN’s point of view, highlighting that ‘The Decision’ got great ratings. Of course, it often gets overlooked that ‘The Decision’ also raised money for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Another thing that apparently bothered Stern and the NBA was that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did not know what was about to happen and was caught in limbo. In Jason Lloyd’s book ‘The Blueprint,’ the story goes that Rich Paul did let then-general manager Chris Grant know about LeBron’s decision before it aired. But Gilbert then, of course, flew off the handle with the comic sans letter. And it was Gilbert who later had to apologize to James to get him to return to Cleveland.

In retrospect, it’s interesting to hear how against ‘The Decision’ Stern was at the time. And perhaps it was one of those moments when Stern knew it was almost time to hang ’em up.

‘The Decision,’ mostly for better but sometimes for worst (see: Paul George documentary), changed the way players conduct their business and how they approach free agency. Silver was ready for the change, embracing it and seeing where it would go. The players have always been the ones to drive the league and James, rather than listen to the powers that be, carried on. Perhaps Silver learned a lesson that he, unlike Stern, can’t be the one driving change.

Still, watching ‘The Decision’ is a surreal experience. It’s only 10 minutes and yet carries the weight of an hour-long show. The tension from James and the audible gasp from kids in the audience when he announced he would leave Cleveland for Miami reveals the tone of most folks at the time, no matter what clarity people have now.

Almost everyone, at least through the prism of sports, is happier now. James won a championship with the Cavs after going back to Cleveland and now he’s moved on to a new chapter with the Lakers. Miami won two championships and Cleveland broke their curse.

But sometimes, a little dose of history in the present is good. It reminds us that the laudatory reverence that exists for James today wasn’t always there and it also reminds us how far we, and James, have come in those eight years.

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